Mike's Bloggity Blog

Ugh.  I can’t believe I’m posting about this.

BUT….if you are vaguely interested in seeing the NKOTBSB concert this summer at The Calgary Stampede, then I got a special password for you.  There is going to be an exclusive pre-sale THIS Thursday from 10am-10pm.  Tickets for “regular, non-bloggity readers” go on sale at a later date, but if you to to Ticketmaster on Thursday and use the password: BOYBANDCS, you’ll be able to grab some tickets.

Tickets range from $73 to $117 including GST and applicable ticket fees. They also include admission to Stampede Park on the day of the concert.

New Kids on The Block and Backstreet Boys return to Calgary on July 13th, 2011!

If you’re like me, you’re already planning what you are going to be doing on Superbowl Sunday. Correction, if you are like me, you’re already wondering what you are going to be doing until after the Superbowl so you can watch Glee! No surprise here, a blog about Canadian entertainment is more stoked for a singing high school than watching a Packer attacking something called a Steeler!

But good news non-Gleeks. CTV just announced it’s own non-musical counter-programming. Minutes after the final minutes of the SuperBowl tick away, Canadians will be able to watch the third season finale of Flashpoint! The post Superbowl timeslot is known as the most coveted spot in television, so it’s quite an honour for the Toronto filmed series! The season finale guest stars renowned actor Victor Garber as an elite military psychologist who sets his sights on destroying Team One.

If you could have one conversation with anyone in the world? Who would it be?

If I could talk to one person in the world, I definitely think it would have to be Ricky Gervais. Actually, I did have the opportunity to talk to him once but I was only allowed one single question and he was still hilarious. I can’t imagine what a whole conversation would be like! Coming in a close second would be Rick Mercer with Jeff Probst holding steady in third!

So why am I asking this random question?  Well WIND Mobile just announced a great new contest that will give five Canadians the opportunity to talk to anyone they want in the world.

To make these conversations happen, WIND Mobile will donate over a half a million dollars to Canadian charities. Once WIND confirms the winners, WIND will donate $100,000 on behalf of the chosen personalities for having the conversations. An additional $100,000 will also be donated to the six most popular charities as voted for online at www.BestConversationEver.ca.

The best part about the whole contest?  I’m a judge! Yes!  The guy that couldn’t get a single person to call him during high school is now helping choose the five winners of this potentially life-changing contest!  So what I am I going to do with my new found power?  Besides abuse it in an attempt to get free things at Arby’s, I’m beyond thrilled to help charities rack up some serious cash!!!

So how do you and your charities get to win?  Well, head on over to the website for all the details.  (Let’s just say that if you’re creative and well spoken, you should have this contest in the bag.) The competition kicked off on January 24th and runs until March 7, 2011.  The winners will be selected by a panel of WIND judges and industry leading bloggers.

It’s the age old adage, if you wanna win, you gotta send me bribes….I mean, enter.

Good luck!  I’m already rooting for you!

Two.  Canada got two single Oscar nominations.  Talk about pressure.

Chances are you haven’t heard of either of the nominees but as our country’s only hope of getting invited to the Oprah Oscar special, they definitely should be celebrated. Ironically both nominees are from Quebec, luckily this isn’t a political blog, so I’ll just move on and let you make your own jokes.

Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve was shocked to hear that his film Incendies was nominated for best Foreign picture, telling The National Post, “I think, from now on, I am going to enjoy the ride. . . . It’s a dream (to be nominated for an Academy Award), and on the night of the awards, I think I’m going to be thankful just to be there with so many other talented filmmakers whose work I respect so much.”

Fun Fact: Incendies was this country’s fifth nomination for Best Foreign Film.  Can you name all five?  (The Decline of the American Empire, Barbarian Invasions, Water, Jesus of Montreal and now Incendies.)

Canada’s second nominee ended up getting the only nomination for the Montreal-filmed Barney’s Version. Makeup artist Adrien Morot picked up a nomination for Best Make Up.  The movie was thought to be able to garner a few more nominations but likely lost out to the film’s low level of buzz compared to other Art House flicks. The good news is that Morot is up against the little liked Wolfman and some movie called The Way Back.

While we won’t know until February 27th if any Canucks will take home Oscar gold, one thing is for sure:  Score: A Hockey Musical is PISSED.

It’s been several weeks since the finale of Being Erica and fans of the show like me have now had sometime to deal that shocking season finale.  While naysayers are saying that the show won’t be returning for a fourth season, fans have their fingers crossed that the show’s shocking cliff hanger won’t remain unresolved.  So instead of waiting for CBC to make a decision, I went right to the source, executive producers Jana Sinyor and Aaron Martin, to get my burning questions answered!

Warning:  If you live in the USA, season three premieres tomorrow on SoapNet.  Spoilers galore can be found below. Here’s a sneak peek of tomorrow night’s premiere.

Bloggity: Okay, just tell us: Who is Erica’s first patient?
Jana and aaron: Kai. Ha-ha, just kidding. Or are we?

Bloggity: That’s not very helpful. Can you at least tell us if the patient will always be wearing gloves?
Jana and Aaron: Yes, it’s a new trend we’re hoping to start.

Bloggity: Do books about cat lullabies really exist?
Jana and Aaron: Aaron and I are writing one.  It’s our next exciting project.

Bloggity:What was your favourite episode of the season?
Jana and Aaron: We loved the finale – 312, as a finished product. We had the most fun writing the gay pride episode, 306. So much of this season was emotional and heavy, 306 was a lot of fun because it was silly and crazy and sexy and weird. And we like that stuff.

Bloggity: What was with that out of place Christmas episode?
Jana and Aaron: CBC wanted to do a holiday special, and it made sense to air it the week before Christmas. It’s a stand alone episode, something we’ve never done before. It turned out warm and fun and light – which is exactly what we were going for.

Bloggity: When will we know if Being Erica is coming back for season four.
Jana and Aaron: Soon, we hope. We’ve got our fingers crossed.

Bloggity:If Rick Mercer-forbids the show doesn’t come back, can you do a Being Erica season 4 via comic books (ala Buffy).
Jana and Aaron:Yes! That would be great.

Bloggity: Who is your choice for Erica Strange in the upcoming American adaptation?
Jana and Aaron: Erin Karpluk. No one else is Erica in our eyes.

Bloggity: Are you happy with the way CBC has been dealing with the show?
Jana and Aaron: Yes. They’ve been beyond supportive from day one. They take risks, they trust us, they get the show, and we feel that they are behind us 100%.

Bloggity: It seems like you never know who is going to knock on Erica’s door. Does her apartment have the worst security ever?
Jana and Aaron: Are  you kidding? How about the fact that Erica’s apartment and the hallway leading to it repaints itself every other episode. Erica’s apartment adds rooms between seasons, the kitchen changes, gets bigger and a window appears out of nowhere.

I think I’ve mentioned it before but if there is one thing that I love more than anything else, it’s mail. Ever since I first read the Jolly Postman, I’ve looked forward to opening my mailbox everyday and finding something. Sure sometimes it’s bills and traffic tickets but other days it’s magazines and other mysterious packages.

Today’s photo blog is a story about a recent experience with a very mysterious package!

“Brrr. It sure is cold out!  Oh look!  I got a giant UPS envelope!  How exciting
Whatever could it be?  Is it DVDs? Books? I can barely stand the excitement!”“Oh.  It’s another envelope.  But wait, there’s something inside that envelope! Hurry! Open it!”

“Is it a CD?  A video game?  Food?”

“Uhh…what?  It’s a foam American Idol microphone?”

“How much money did CTV and A channel pay to ship this across the country?
And what am I even supposed to do with it? This is certainly not a DVD, a book, a CD or a really cool magazine. “  “Well at least the foam microphone that wasn’t a DVD, a book,
a CD or a really cool magazine was made in Canada!  That’s pretty cool I guess…”

Can I just tell you how much I love guest bloggers?  Believe it or not, we bloggers rarely get a day off.  So if I can get someone as cool as 18 to Life‘s Stacey Farber to fill in for me, well there’s just nothing wrong with that!

Since she did such a bang up job last time, I thought it would be great to have Farber come back and let us know what’s topping her Favourite Things list for this week! The newly addicted to Lost actress fills us in some of our favourite restaurants, tries to make Toronto Maple Leafs sound cool and for the second week in a row, schools me in the world of make-up.

1) “Lost”, again. Last week was season three, this week is season four. I can’t wait to kick this habit. I expect I’ll have viewed the entire series by March.

2) Le Gourmand, near Queen and Spadina, is one of my favourite coffee shops in Toronto because it’s cozy even on wintry weekdays. You can’t go wrong ordering their lunchtime sandwiches (proscuitto and brie!), salads (three bean!) or soups (carrot ginger!). For breakfast, I get a big bowl of yogurt and granola, and a large cappuccino. Don’t even get me started on their gourmet cookies (peanut butter!).

3) Luxale- This week, I spent a couple of nights in Montreal to re-record some sound bites for an upcoming episode of “18 to Life.” During my stay, I was lucky enough to experience a night on the town coordinated by Montreal’s hippest concierge service, Luxale. The host, Dara Gallinger, organized a whirlwind evening on our behalf that included a group dinner on Notre Dame, a booth at the W hotel, and a private SUV for the night—it was flawless.

(photo via yelp)
4) Black Hoof- I checked out Toronto’s infamous Black Hoof restaurant for my first time this week with two people who frequent the place—the creators and writers of “18 to Life,” Karen and Derek. We shared each dish and I dared to join them in eating beef heart, beef tongue, and pig cheek! It was the most intimidating meal I’ve ever had, but I have to admit, it was one of the most delicious, too.

5) “Blue Valentine”- My friend Erin and I went to see “Blue Valentine” starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. Both she and I found the film crushingly depressing, but we loved it anyway. See it without your significant other.

6) Minerologie Makeup- This week, I’m using a new mineral foundation by Mineralogie. The loose powder comes in a plastic tube that has a natural, dispensing brush attached to it, which makes the makeup very easy to apply. And the all-in-one packaging is not only convenient– it’s clean! The hygienic applicator (the brush pops out of a plastic lid, instead of simply collecting dirt in your purse), the great coverage it provides, and the fact that it has an SPF of 26, makes this is a product worth trying.

7) The Toronto Maple Leafs- My boyfriend and I went to our first hockey game of the season and got to see Ovechkin and the Washington Capitols play at the ACC. We cheered on the Leafs and enjoyed our beers, but were bummed that we didn’t make the Jumbotron’s “Kiss Cam.”

8. Ipad- My boyfriend’s Ipad has made weekends indoors even more enjoyable. We rent Woody Allen movies, kill angry birds, and play Scrabble on it. Oh, and we can order food online, so there really is no reason to leave the house when it’s minus 20 outside.

9) Pomegranate Seeds- They look like precious jewels and they’re exceptionally flavourful. When I crave a sugary snack, I now opt for spoonfuls of pomegranate seeds and feel better knowing they come from a “super fruit” that is loaded with nutrients and antioxidants.

10) Costco- As far as I’m concerned, I’ve joined the coolest club in Canada. Sunday shopping at Costco was magical and I’m not even worried about how or when I’ll use 120 industrial size Ziploc bags.

Make sure you check out Stacey and co-star Michael Seater tonight on CBC’s 18 to Life!

If there’s one thing that I know, it’s that Hot In Cleveland was not made for people like me.

My first two clues include: Old people and Cleveland. Not to mention the ridiculous stunt casting of Betty White.  I mean yes, she’s funny and all of that.  But she was only supposed to be in the first two episodes, yet here we are on the day of the show’s second premiere and she’s still there!

But you’d have to be living under a rock or never gotten on an Air Canada flight in the past eight months to not have seen at least one episode of the comedy and while it makes me shutter to admit it, it’s actually pretty funny.  Am I going to run home to watch the show live?  No, I don’t run. But I might TIVO it and save it for a rainy Sunday.

Hot in Cleveland returns tonight on Sunday.

Now here’s a sentance I never thought I’d type:

“A woman from Winnipeg has done what I’ve always wanted to do!”

In an episode of The Price is Right that aired this past Friday, Angelina Goertzen made it all the way to the showcase showdown and ended up narrowly winning the big prize!  She beat her PIR rival by only $122! When the show was filmed last month, it seemed like luck was already on her side.  She was one of those fortunate contestants that was the last one called down and then immediately won her way on to the stage next to Drew Carey.  (Imagine how pissed those people who were stuck in contestants row were!)

By the end of the show, Angelina had won a boat and a trip to Mexico but opted for a cash payout instead of the prizes because really, who needs a boat in Winnipeg?  She ended up pocketing $25,000!

Congrats Angelina!

Special Review by Dan Meades

Hannah Georgas took the stage at The Gateway to a somewhat sparse but excited crowd for her first performance of 2011. The four piece rock band had a traditional set up and presented a very typical rock sound with straight forward drum beats and a thick bass tone to back the delightful and unusual tone of Georgas’ voice. Her vocal sound is hard to describe but falls somewhere between Feist and Sarah Harmer (both of whom I love). She flirts with crossing into cutesy sounding but doesn’t quite get there, instead commanding the stage with great presence and a very tight sound as she worked through radio friendly, catchy songs with strong hooks and singable choruses. The Vancouver born artist is part of the west coast music scene with the likes of Said The Whale and Dan Mangan, fine company to be in for sure and she certainly holds her own.

Most of the songs played tonight were from Georgas’ 2010 offering ‘This is Good’ but she also revisited her previous album entitled ‘The Beat Stuff’. Everybody at the Gateway had a great time tonight including the band who threw t-shirts to the crowd between songs and interacted like old friends on stage. I had not listened to a lot of Georgas’ music before tonight but I certainly will from now on. We are not just talking about another singer songwriter with a decent voice, Georgas is the real deal that deserves, and is ready for, an audience much bigger than she had tonight.

You can check out her blog at www.hannahgeorgas.com where she will give you her top three songs of the week, everything from Sam Roberts to Kanye is on her list and it is pretty fun to read.

Honorable mention tonight goes to Calgary’s own Noel Johnson who opened the show. He is worth a listen so check him out.  If his sound is a little familiar you can credit local favorite Michael Bernard Fitzgerald who co-produced his album ‘Spirit of the Day.

Dan Meades always gets pop culture trivia questions wrong; he finds himself politely laughing along when others make jokes about TV Celebs and it took him months to realize that Brangelina is actually two separate people. In fact he had to lie through his teeth just to get Bloggity to let him write music reviews. Some of the lies he told were that he was born and raised in St. John’s Newfoundland and made a living as a George St. Musician through University. In fact Dan is almost completely tone deaf which makes it all the more remarkable that he can review concerts at all. You can reach Dan at danmeades@gmail.com